Wilson Pickett Biography

Born March 18, 1941, in Prattville, AL; died of a heart attack, January
19, 2006, in Reston, VA. Singer and songwriter. Soul/Rhythm & Blues
(R&B) singer Wilson Pickett was best known for such 1960s hits as
"In the Midnight Hour" and "Mustang Sally."
Known by the nickname "Wicked Pickett," he wrote or co-wrote
many of his own songs. Despite a career downturn in the 1970s and 1980s,
Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and
continued to perform until the year before his death.

Born in 1941 in Prattville, Alabama, Pickett had ten older siblings. His
childhood was not happy. His mother, Lena, beat him regularly which
compelled him to run away from home several times. Pickett began his
musical career performing in Baptist church choirs. When he was 14 years
old, he moved to Detroit where his father lived. There, Pickett performed
on street corners with other singers. In the 1950s, Pickett put together
the Violinaires, a gospel group.

A move to a new band and different musical genres led to success for
Pickett. He embraced the evolution of gospel into soul/R&B in part
because he
saw the greater potential for financial success. In 1959, Pickett was
asked to join the Falcons. This R&B group already had a hit single
with "You're So Fine," before Pickett joined. They
had another successful single, "I Found Love" written by
Pickett, in 1962.

Pickett soon left the group to strike out as a solo artist. He had some
success with a song he co-wrote, "If You Need Me," in 1963.
Another version of the song was recorded and released by Solomon Burke
around the same time. While Burke found more success with his version,
Pickett's take on the song attracted attention as well. The success
of "If You Need Me" and several other minor hits led to
Pickett signing with Atlantic Records in 1964. His years with Atlantic
proved to be the most fruitful of his career. In the mid- to late 1960s,
he had a string of hit singles including "Mustang Sally,"
"634-5789," "Everybody Needs Somebody to
Love," "Funky Broadway," and "Land of 1,000
Dances." Pickett was most identified with "In the Midnight
Hour," which he co-wrote with Steve Cropper.

"In the Midnight Hour" and many of these other songs were
recorded in 1965 during Pickett's sessions at Stax Records produced
by legendary producer Jerry Wexler and supported by Booker T. & the
MGs, Stax's house band. Of Pickett's powerful vocals, Wexler
told Geoff Boucher of the
Los Angeles Times
upon Pickett's death, "There was something about those
records and Wilson's voice—those were some of the funkiest,
deepest-grooving, in-the-pocket recordings I ever heard. The thing about
Wilson was he was just a great screamer but he did it with
control."

While Pickett's talent was undeniable, some of his friends and
others believed that his prickly, distant, and sometimes explosive
personality limited his success and public acclaim when compared with
other soul singers from the same time period such as Otis Redding, Sam
Cooke, and Al Green. Despite his personal problems, Pickett's
recordings were surpassed by his legendary live shows. Live, he combined
his gospel background with funk-like stylings such as added shouts,
grunts, and screams to each song, much like James Brown. His live
performances had a instinctual, animal-like quality to them.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Pickett began experimenting with covers
of other artists' songs. In 1969, he covered the Beatles'
"Hey Jude," with Duane Allman playing guitar. In the 1970s,
Picket recorded his versions of songs like the Archies'
"Sugar, Sugar" and Randy Newman's "Momma Told
Me Not To Come." He continued to record originals as well like the
1970 hit "Engine Number 9."

Pickett's career began to decline as he lacked chart hits after
1973. By the time disco took hold in the 1970s and popular music continued
to change in the 1980s, Pickett's star faded, though he continued
to tour and record on occasion. He also became more unstable in his
personal life and developed a drinking problem. In 1974, he was arrested
for brandishing a gun during an argument in New York. Thirteen years
later, Pickett was arrested and sentenced to probation for possession of a
loaded shotgun in his car.

The 1990s saw a revival in Pickett's career. In 1991, he was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. More attention was brought
to his importance as an artist when the 1991 hit film
The Commitments
was released. The film focused on a young Irish band obsessed with
American soul music and a desire to meet Pickett himself. Though Pickett
performed at the New York and Los Angeles premieres of
The Commitments
, he did not appear in the film.

While his career was revived, Pickett had a series of run-ins with the
law. While living in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1991, he drove his car onto
the mayor's lawn, spewed death threats, and was arrested. Pickett
was convicted of drunk driving in 1993. The conviction resulted in a
sentence of a year in jail and five years probation. During his time in
jail, he got into a fight with another inmate and injured his eye. Pickett
had to have a number of surgeries to fix the damage. Pickett was also
arrested for cocaine possession several times and went to rehab.

In 1999, Pickett moved to Ashubrn, Virginia, and recorded his first album
in more than a decade.
It's Harder Now
was nominated for a Grammy Award for traditional rhythm and blues vocal
performance as well as three W.C. Handy Awards, given by the Blues
Foundation, in 2000. He continued to tour until the end of 2004, when he
decided to take a year off from performing. He planned on recording and
touring again, but his health began to decline. Wilson died at the age of
64 on January 19, 2006, in Reston, Virginia, after suffering a heart
attack. He is survived by his sons, Lynderrick and Michael, and his
daughters, Veda and Saphan.